Page 10 of Hollywood Games
‘It’s okay, I understand. It won’t be forever and I’m not going anywhere. She’s your mum. You’ve got to be there for her.’
Rory held her to him in the quietness of the cabin. ‘She’s got an appointment in a couple of days, then we’ll see what the next step is. I’ve got to go back now, but I’ll message you tomorrow and try and get away once the roof is secure.’
Any hope Barbara’shealth scare wouldn’t affect her burgeoning relationship with Rory were dashed over the next week. Barbara wanted him close by, and when he wasn’t with her, he was dealing with the mess in the east wing. The bad weather had returned, the wind lifting more slates from the castle roof and battering the sheeting he’d attached to cover the gaping hole. He didn’t even have time to help Zoe get the hire car back to the nearest airport, so Jamie stepped in.
The small community library in Kinloch had reopened after the holidays, so Zoe spent a few hours a day there, using their internet to finish working on the website she’d designed for the castle and building its social media. Before Christmas, and before getting together with Rory, she’d struck a deal with him: he would provide the labour and materials to do up the cabin, and in return, she would use her skills to bring the castle website into the twenty-first century. Zoe knew that in order to bring tourists in she had to show off the greatest asset the castle had – Rory. She’d somehow managed to convince him to copy Brad Bauer, put on a kilt and little else, wave a sword around and act out the best bits ofBraveheart,Rob RoyandOutlander. The images were practically pornographic. She’d taken photos of him sitting on one of the wooden thrones in the great hall, on the battlements, and she’d even worn Fiona’s wedding dress and got Fiona to take pictures of her in Rory’s arms.
She shivered and shuffled on the plastic library seat, feeling the heat growing inside her. That had been before they first kissed. Before he laid her down on the four-poster bed and gave her the most intense orgasm of her life. Until the next day, when he’d given her another, and another, and another. Zoe let out a strangled cry as the memories flooded in, then glanced guiltily around. A library wasn’t the place for screams of sexual frustration. It was torment to spend her days adding more content to the website and uploading more photos to Instagram of the man she hadn’t had sex with for nearly a week now. She tried not to feel pissed off with Barbara. She knew how terrified her mother had been when she was diagnosed, even though she’d tried to hide it from her. Rory had been to a couple of initial appointments with his mum, and she was now waiting for an ultrasound and potential biopsy in Edinburgh at the end of the week.
She heard footsteps behind her and turned to see the man she loved and craved striding around the bookshelves. She knocked over her chair in her haste to get to him and they fell on each other. His tongue thrust into her mouth and she let out a moan, grinding herself against him. They’d tried to have sex once a couple of days ago, but it had ended in disaster. Bandit was with them and had taken an unhealthy interest in what his favourite humans were doing. Rory couldn’t even leave at night to come to her, as Barbara wasn’t sleeping well and wanted to know he was there. He let her go and stepped away, his breathing ragged, the ridge of his cock pushing out against his trousers. They glanced at it and around, checking no one was there. Zoe giggled and Rory went red. ‘Fuck, Zoe, I can’t stand much more of this.’
‘I know. Hopefully you’ll know more on Friday. What are you doing here? Got any free time?’ she asked, batting her eyelashes.
He shook his head. ‘No, but I need to have you closer. Grab your things, I’ve had an idea.’
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6
Zoe walked through the wintry streets of Kinloch holding Rory’s warm hand. She usually had to make her stride smaller when she was with her friends, but her long legs matched Rory’s. It was perfect.
‘So, what’s your grand plan? Have you discovered a secret passage for me to sneak through at night?’
‘I wish. I was thinking you should use the estate office to do your work. I’ll give you a key and you can come and go as you please. There’s Wi-Fi and a phone line. Mum never goes up there so you won’t have to deal with her. I just miss you and want to know you’re close.’
Zoe beamed at him. ‘Will I have a big fancy-pants desk? A potted fern? My own coffee mug?’
‘Err… To be honest I haven’t really thought this through. The office is a little, erm…’
‘Messy?’
He sighed. ‘It’s a fucking tip. I keep trying to tidy, but it’s a Herculean task. I need professional help. That, or a flame thrower.’
Zoe squeezed his hand. ‘Don’t worry, I’ll keep my snarky comments to myself.’
He led her through the back door of the castle, up a flight of stairs and down a corridor, until he stopped outside a door with an old peeling sign on the outside which read:Kinloch Estate Office. He hesitated and turned to her. She had her palm over her mouth.
‘What are you doing?’ he asked.
‘I’m trying to stop myself from saying something awful when I see it.’
‘It’s not that bad!’ He opened the door and she followed him in, stopping just inside and clapping both hands forcibly to her mouth. He sighed. ‘It really is that bad, isn’t it?’
Zoe nodded. ‘If Marie Kondo saw this, she’d have a fit.’
The room was big, but crammed with the detritus of estate administration. There were stacks of books and papers on the floor, chairs, the two desks, and every shelf. Two old grey filing cabinets stood haphazardly near the wall, but they had boxes stacked in front so they couldn’t even be opened. The dust and filth made Zoe feel ill. She flung open a window and breathed a lungful of cold air as she looked at the courtyard below.
Rory picked a path to the desk nearest the door and grabbed an armful of paper from the top. ‘Try to resist the temptation to touch anything,’ he said, dumping the papers on the only clear spot on the floor. ‘You’ll be messing with my filing system.’ His phone rang and he took the call. ‘I’ll be right there, two minutes.’ He looked at Zoe. ‘It’s Mum.’
‘It’s okay, go. I’ve got tons to do.’ She reached for him and they kissed, Rory’s groan vibrating down through her.
He pulled back, resting his forehead on hers. ‘I need you, Zoe. This is fucking killing me.’
‘It won’t be forever.’
He pressed a set of keys into her hand. ‘Come and go as you please. I love you.’
‘Love you too. Go take care of your mum.’ She pushed him out the door before she begged him to stay.
